Care for a Beached Animal

Finding a stranded shark, whale, or dolphin is not something the everyday beach-goer will encounter. However, the situation can be a lot less stressful for the animal and for the people involved if you know what to do. A beached animal is clearly in need of help, but you must always attend to your safety first by waiting for help and directions from trained professionals. If you get the go-ahead to help the beached animal, you’ll be asked to ensure it can breathe. Marine professionals will then decide if the animal can re-floated or if it needs care in an aquarium.

Steps

Providing Immediate Care

1. Call for help. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration maintains a network of volunteers and professionals to respond in cases of stranding. Alert local law enforcement as well. Do your best to keep the crowds away.
   • Lifeguards might also be qualified to help a beached animal. Bring the situation to the attention of nearby lifeguards, if any are present.
   • Contact the stranding network near you by searching the NOAA database at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/report.
2. Approach with care. Marine animals can be dangerous for many reasons. Sharks and dolphins have sharp teeth which can easily hurt you. Dolphins and whales may thrash about unpredictably while beached, and their powerful tails and snouts may cause injury. Marine animals also carry diseases which can transfer to humans. For these reasons, you should always keep at least 150 feet away from beached animals unless specifically instructed to do otherwise by a trained professional.
   • Do not allow children or pets near beached marine animals. This can add undue stress to the animal.
   • If a trained professional requests your aid, remove watches and jewelry which might damage the animal’s skin before approaching.
3. Apply zinc oxide-based sunscreen when possible. Slather the sunscreen across the skin of dolphins. Be careful not to get any in the blowhole. Zinc oxide can also be smeared around the blowhole of whales to keep it clear. Since dolphins and whales are not usually exposed directly to the sun for long periods, they will need the protective coating that zinc oxide provides. Do not apply suntan oil or other lotions to the animal.
   • Do not use zinc oxide on sharks.
4. Keep the animal cool. Splash water over its skin and apply wet t-shirts or towels to it. Do not cover the animal’s dorsal fin, pectoral flippers, or flukes. Cut a slit in a wet t-shirt and ease the fin, fluke, or flipper through the slit so that the fabric rests on the animal’s body, not the fin.
   • Wrap ice packs in a cloth or t-shirt and apply them to the fins and tail. Do not apply ice directly to the animal’s skin.
   • Use an umbrella or tarp to keep the animal in shade.
   • Do not get water in the blowhole.
5. Stay focused on helping the animal. For instance, do not take pictures with a whale or dolphin. Dolphins and whales dehydrate quickly when out of water and should be returned as soon as possible. Spending time taking personal pictures or inviting others to pet the animal will minimize the time spent helping it, cause the animal to feel stressed, and put other people at risk.
   • Taking pictures of beached animals for scientific purposes is encouraged, but it should be done with care from a safe distance. Pictures of a beached animal’s location, tags, lesions, wounds, and other signs of human interaction like entangled fishing nets should be photographed.
6. Wash your hands after touching a marine animal. This will minimize the spread of illnesses from the animal to you. Take a shower if you leaned against the animal with your body or legs.

Ensuring the Animal Can Breathe

1. Keep the animal upright. Blowholes on whales and dolphins should be pointing straight up and out of the surf. Avoid getting water in the blowhole while rinsing the animal. Dig a pit beneath the animal’s body and fill it with water to reduce pressure on the lungs.
   • You should also dig water-filled pits beneath the animal’s tail and flippers. Make sure fins and flipper are directed out and away from the animal in a natural way, not crushed beneath the body.
2. Turn the animal upright. If the animal is not upright, and you feel confident enough to move it, get the help of one or two other people to assist you in gently turning the animal upright. Larger animals like whales might require four to six people to help turn it upright.
   • Use caution when rolling an animal. If the animal is too big, do not risk overexertion by trying to right it.
3. Pour water over sharks. Sharks, unlike whales and dolphins, need water in their mouths and gills to breathe. Pour a bucket of water slowly and steadily over the shark’s gills, and carefully pour some over the shark’s snout, allowing it to dribble into the shark’s mouth. Do not bring your hands too close to the shark’s mouth, as a bite can be deadly.

Planning to Re-float a Beached Animal

1. Identify “problem” animals. Problem animals are those which were sick, confused, or injured, and may have led others to become stranded as well. Returning problem animals that carry an illness could cause their podmates to become infected as well. Wait for marine experts to decide what to do with problem animals.
   • Some beached animals are brought to zoos or aquariums while being nursed back to health.
2. Determine the possibility of returning a beached animal. Once on land, and unsupported by the weightlessness of water, whales might crush their own internal organs and skeletons Sperm whales and whales of even larger sizes are almost impossible to return to water. Dolphins and sharks have a greater chance of being returned to water, but the decision should be made by a qualified marine expert.
3. Do not drag or push a beached animal back to water. Dragging the animal might cause it serious injury. Instead, wait for expert help to arrive. Chances are that a beached animal ended up beached because it was ill, and should be given medical care before returning it to the sea.

Warnings

• Do not attempt to move the animal alone.
• Do not insert or pour anything into the blowhole.

Things You'll Need

• An umbrella or tarp
• Towels or t-shirts
• Buckets
• Zinc oxide

Related Articles

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• Pet a Dolphin

Quick Summary

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